Vaulted
by foxfire79
Summary: Follow the adventures of Nora Shepard as she wakes up as the sole survivor of Vault 111. With a new improved back story (ex-secret agent) a love interest eventually (Paladin Danse) and zany adventures with all the other companions she meets along the way. It's all your Fallout 4 needs in one easy stop, brought to you by Vault-Tec! (This story is in no way affiliated with Vault-Tec)
1. Every Day is Friday Part 01

Vaulted - A Fallout 4 Fan Fiction by Foxfire79 (Nora/Eventually Paladin Danse)

Disclaimer: Well obviously, if I don't work for Bioware, do you honestly think I'm going to work for Bethesda? Nobody wants to hire a hack writer like me. Any-who, all bitterness aside, I don't own anything related to the Fallout franchise except for the one or possibly two Sole Survivors I've created so far. I stuck with the default name Nora because, well, I like it. And as you can see from the pairing, she will eventually end up with Paladin Danse because hey! The guy gets around in an awesome looking armour! Why not? So as I progress the game, so shall the story progress, because I can't very well write about things I don't know. Unless...

Get started!

Every Day Is Friday - Part 01

Nora watched her dearly beloved wipe the steam from the bathroom mirror for the third time and smothered a grin. The silvered glass fogged up again almost immediately, and he let out a grunt of annoyance, running his fingers through his still damp hair. She stepped forward, wrapping one arm around his waist while reaching for the plastic bottle of liquid soap sitting on the edge of the sink.

"Wipe some of this on the glass and it won't steam over, My Love." Phil looked at the pump bottle in her hand, slightly bemused, then squeezed some of the softly scented liquid onto his hand, smearing it over the mirror. The glass stayed clear, though ever so slightly smudged.

"You're just making more work for poor Codsworth, you know?" Nora nudged his shoulder with forehead, playfully, then met his reflected gaze in the mirror.

"Codsworth doesn't mind, he likes to be busy. You've probably just made his day. In other words, you're welcome." Phil looked slightly down to meet her gaze, and smiled, then went back to smoothing his hair into place. He ran a hand over the rather dark stubble on his cheeks and frowned.

"What do you think, Honey? Beard or no beard?" Nora gazed at his reflection critically.

"Well, the people coming to the Vet Hall tonight are expecting to see a man shaped by war, someone that's experienced everything a battlefield has to offer. Now, your fancy-schmancy dapper haircut says 'Look at me, I've been domesticated', but that sexy as hell rough stubble of yours says 'I'm still a guy who knows what's what, and I could stab you to death with a rifle bayonet if it was called for'. But it's entirely up to you, of course." Phil looked at his reflection once more, smirking.

"Sexy, huh? Looks like I'm keeping the beard." He looked down at Nora and kissed the top of her head. "Do you really want the audience at the Vet Hall tonight thinking I'm some sort of dashing soldier of fortune? I don't want to glamorize the danger of joining up." Nora pushed him to the side slightly so she could fix her own hair in front of the now clear mirror. The almost-black waves barely brushed her shoulders, but at least at this length it remained neat most of the time. She still retained the pale complexion inherited from her English mother, and her pale skin and dark hair made her bright green eyes seem larger than they actually were. She gave her upper lip a small pinch to make it look a little fuller, and rubbed her cheeks to add a bit of natural colour. She threw a wink at her reflection before Phil chuckled at her and nudged her back out of the way with his hip. "Get out of here, you ridiculously perfect creature. Leave me to my petty insecurities." Nora spun on her foot and started out of the bathroom, then lingered in the doorway a moment.

"Don't worry about being too convincing during your presentation tonight, Love. There will always be people who'll sign up because they believe it's their civic duty, and others who'll do it to honor old family traditions. At least they're not conscripting yet. Just tell them about your experiences and answer their questions truthfully... Or at least as truthfully as you can without breaking any international treaties." Phil ducked his head, his reflection grinning at her as he ran his hands over the stubble on his chin and cheeks once more.

"Duly noted, Hon. Don't break any international treaties. This is why you're known as the smart half of this double act. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you, or your 'friends in high places'. Now go on and get some breakfast, I'll be out in a moment." Nora stifled a giggle, and looked through the open door of their infant son Shaun's room. She could hear him in his crib making content, happy baby noises. She decided not to intrude in his morning relaxing time, and edged her way to the kitchen where she could smell the full breakfast that their recently purchased Mr Handy robotic butler had cooked up for them. And there was the automaton itself, flitting happily about the kitchen readying the coffee pot.

"Morning Codsworth." Nora slid into one of the chairs and pulled herself in closer to the micah topped kitchen table. "What's on the menu today?" Codsworth's 'head' turned to look at her while the rest of his body remained stationary, floating in front of the stove stirring what appeared to be perfect scrambled eggs.

"Good morning, Ma'am. This morning I've decided on scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and pancakes. They are Sir's favorites and I wished to put him at ease before his speech this evening. I hope you don't mind, Ma'am?" Nora shook her head, and reached for her favourite coffee mug, smiling a little when she noticed the fresh daisies in her willow pattern vase in the center of the table.

"I don't mind at all, Codsworth. You're doing a fantastic job as always. And thank you for the flowers." Codsworth drifted closer to the table and filled her mug with coffee, while his other 'hand' flipped over the pancakes in the frying pan like a professional.

"Just doing my work to the best of my abilities, Ma'am. I do live to serve, after all..." Just then, Shaun's happy cooing changed to a louder, more insistent sound. Codsworth turned off the stove top, and placed two perfectly plated breakfast servings on the table where she and Phil usually sat. "And speaking of service, I believe young Master Shaun needs a nappy change. You enjoy your breakfast while it's hot, Ma'am. I'll be right back."

Nora watched the robot float down the hall towards Shaun's room, then shrugged and began eating. In the beginning she'd been a little suspicious of letting Codsworth interact with her tiny baby son, but when Shaun had laughed and reached up to grab one of the robot's handy arms, she'd settled into the idea a little better. And damn could that robot cook! She'd almost cleared her plate before Phil emerged from the corridor, freshly changed into a flannel shirt over a white singlet and jeans. He'd decided to keep the stubble after all, and it scraped against her cheek as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

"Breakfast looks good. Did Codsworth make it? Nora nodded, her mouth still stuffed full of pancakes. Phil smiled and looked down the corridor where they could hear the sound of their British accented robot playing peek-a-boo with Shaun in his room. "I'd say that was a ridiculously large amount of money well spent, wouldn't you Hon?" Nora nodded, swallowing then taking a large swig of coffee to wash everything down.

"Definitely. I don't know how we got by without him. Good old Codsworth." Nora stood, about to head down the hallway to collect Shaun, when there was a sudden knock at the door. She threw an annoyed look at the clock on the wall, then looked over at Phil, who shrugged, looking puzzled. "Who on earth comes calling at this time on a Saturday?" She moved toward the door and peeked through the peephole, immediately sliding to the floor and placing a finger over her lips. She mouthed the word 'salesman' to Phil, who almost choked on a mouthful of eggs. Sitting with her back against the door, Nora wished the man away, but to no avail. He knocked again, possibly louder this time.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Nora's eyes widened as she silently pleaded with Phil to change places with her and answer the door. He shook his head, and took a huge bite of bacon, chewing it as slowly as he could. She sighed, still refusing to stand up and answer the door. The salesman knocked again, this time a little lighter. "Uh, excuse me? I can see you both through the window, so one of you might as well just open the door and talk to me. It won't take long, scout's honour!" Nora climbed slowly to her feet, and opened the door, a resigned look settling across her features.

"Can I help you?" The man's smile looked practiced, which made Nora immediately wary as he stepped forward and grasped her right hand in a firm handshake.

"Good morning Ma'am! I've been trying to meet up with you for a while now, but your husband and your," he cleared his throat before continuing, "Ahem, butler, have been brushing me off all week." Nora could feel her cheeks growing pink. She glanced over at Phil who gave her a shrug which clearly said 'I tried', then looked back at the clipboard wielding salesman at the door.

"Well, I am a very busy woman. My family keeps me on my toes." The salesman nodded, his smile slipping into a forced look of understanding that in no way made her feel any better. She decided to get this ball rolling a little faster if she could. "Sooo... What's this all about today? Are you selling us something, or is one of our payments late? Some of my accounts are still under my maiden name, that's usually the issue..." The salesman pushed his hat back a little further on his head, and Nora could see the beads of sweat forming on his skin. A hat and coat in this weather? Seriously? Even if it was his company's protocol to wear the uniform door to door, there had to be some kind of 'weather permitting' clause.

"Oh no, Ma'am, nothing of the sort. I'm from Vault-Tec." He said it like she should recognize the name, but nothing sprang to mind. Nora threw the man a quizzical look.

"Vault-Tec? Remind me...?" The salesman actually had the gall to look shocked at her answer.

"With the impending threat of nuclear war upon us, we at Vault-Tec have built custom made bunkers, Vaults if you will, strong enough to withstand the largest load atomic weapons created today. These Vaults are situated underground all over the United States, and indeed the entire world, should the worst case scenario come to pass. The Vaults are fully stocked with food, water, living facilities, why they're practically a home-away-from-home!" Nora gazed at him, completely nonplussed.

"A home-away-from-home?"

"Yes!"

"With all the comforts we've grown used to?"

"Yes!"

"But completely under the ground, with no sunlight, fresh air, or ability to contact people on the surface?"

"Errr... Yes? But you would be safe from the bombs! And any other atomic anomalies that could arise!" The Vault-Tec rep seemed to be running out of things to say that he assumed a 'housewife' would understand, so Nora sighed and reached for the clipboard.

"Sounds good. Anything to keep my family safe from the atomic anomalies. How much do you need?" The rep shook his head, his condescending smile once more plastered across his face.

"Oh, we don't need any money, Ma'am. Thanks to your husband's military service you've already been guaranteed a position in the local Vault, Vault 111. And of course your whole family is welcome, just not your robot, obviously." Nora could feel her jaw clenching as her grip on the clipboard tightened. Of course they would only mention Phil's military service, her work had been more covert and entirely off the books. She felt a presence behind her, and immediately calmed down as Phil reached in front of her and grabbed the clipboard deftly from her hands. Luckily, it was a digital form, so all they had to do was tick boxes and verify their names with the provided digi-pen.

"Vault 111, sounds classy. There's no-one I'd rather spend months underground with than you and Shaun, Hon." He finished entering his information, then passed the board back to her. "I'm sure you're a busy man, friend. Best get along to your next house quickly, before you realize the disservice you've paid to my wife." The Vault-Tec rep paled a little at the ambiguous threat and backed out of the doorway slightly. Nora frowned as she re-entered her name on the form for the third time, and it once again told her she didn't exist.

"This form isn't accepting my name, is there a problem?" The rep took the board and pen back from her and reset the form.

"These things can be troublesome sometimes. Oh, for the days of a good piece of paper and a pen! Alright then, here we go... Name?"

"Nora Shepard."

The rep frowned at the board, and looked up.

"Let's try your maiden name, sometimes the information on these databases can be a few years out of date... Ok, ready." Nora sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Nora Garland."

The Vault-Tec rep entered her name, then choked a little when something popped up on the screen in front of him. He looked up at her, back down at the screen, then back at her, his mouth opening and closing like a caught fish. Nora raised a concerned eyebrow, leaning forward a little to try and see what the pop-up said. He hastily hid the board behind his back, his fake smile re-appearing but considerably more shaky than it had been before.

"I... Ummm... Forgive me, Ms Garland, I didn't realize you were a VIP as well. I'd like to thank you profusely for your work and once again thank you for choosing Vault-Tec as your 'go to' for war time safety!" He began edging backwards down the path, like he couldn't get away fast enough, but Nora followed him out.

"Hey, that's 'Nora Shepard' now! Has been for almost three years! 'Mrs Nora Shepard!' Update your database!"

The rep almost ran down the street back to his van, and Nora closed the front door behind him, shaking her head. Well, now they were proud owners of some Vault space, apparently. Hopefully they'd never have to use it. Phil had moved to the couch to watch the Saturday morning news and he reached up to grab her hand as she passed by, kissing the back of it before releasing her.

"Hey, it's peace of mind, right. Let's hope we never have to go down there." Nora nodded, walking over to the kitchen counter to finish her coffee when Codsworth came drifting down the hallway towards her.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms Nora, but Master Shaun just won't settle down after his change. I believe he needs some of that 'mothering' that you do so well." Nora threw back the last of her coffee and patted the robot on the head as she walked past.

"No problem, Codsworth, Old Chum. I'll get right on it." Codsworth returned to the kitchen to clean up the breakfast dishes, humming a tune to himself as he did so. She entered Shaun's room and caught him trying to swing one leg over the top of his crib to climb out. She deftly untangled him from the bars and cradled him in her arms, and he immediately started giggling, knowing he'd been caught.

"Hey now! Who taught you to do that?" Shaun blinked up at her, and tried to grab her hair, but its short length saved her. "Yeah buddy, that's why I got this haircut, because you kept pulling on it. Who's got a smart mummy? You do!" She heard a chuckle from the doorway, and saw that Phil had followed her up to Shaun's room. He leaned casually against the door-frame with his arms folded, staring at them with unabashed pride and love.

"There's my family. I was wondering where everyone had got to." He walked over and wrapped his arms around both of them, placing a kiss on Shaun's forehead before taking him from Nora's arms and placing him back in his crib. He gave the space shuttle mobile above the bed a push and it started to spin, making Shaun giggle again. "He is the best thing to ever happen to me. Well, second best after you of course, Hon." The faint music of the mobile still filled the room as Phil turned around and gently pulled Nora to his chest, gently swaying to the rhythm of the chiming toy. Nora chuckled, burying her face into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him.

"So I'm still number one, but only slightly? I can accept that, I mean, Shaun is very cute. He pretty much runs this house, we barely get any time to ourselves any more..." When she mentioned this, Phil pulled her a little closer, and she realised he was in the mood for something a little more than dancing. "Oh my, I thought you wanted to go out to the park today..." Her words died away as his lips found the shell of her ear, and her eyes fluttered closed. "We can't do this in front of Shaun..." This seemed to break his mood for a second, as he pulled away and seemed to nod in agreement. Then he picked her up, threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and almost ran out of Shaun's room and into theirs, with Nora laughing uncontrollably. He all but threw her on their bed, making the mattress bounce up from the bed-frame before it settled once more, slightly askew. He smirked down at her, and winked.

"Is this better, M'lady?" Nora sat up, winked back, and started unbuttoning her blouse. Phil took the hint, whipping his flannel shirt off and almost ripping his singlet in half in his ardour. He looked down at the woman who had completely captured his heart and shook his head, grinning. "Four years ago, I wouldn't have thought this kind of life was even possible for me, for us. We were both out in the field, you were doing recon and I was head of your security team... Now look at us. Mr and Mrs Normal. We even have a kid..." He stretched out on top of her, his left hand slipping beneath her bra to cup her breast as he paused to kiss her. Nora sighed into his mouth, drawing her knees up a little higher to hug his body more closer to hers. She couldn't help it, the guy was great at everything he put his mind to, and right now that was bringing her pleasure.

"We could have another kid, if you wanted to..." She managed to get the words out around kissing him, and they seemed to spur him on even harder. He slipped his free hand down her pants, his clever fingers finding her centre almost immediately. She gasped as his lips brushed her throat, and his fingers tweaked her nipple, still covered by the thin satin fabric of her bra. It was too much all at once, but it felt so good... He chuckled as his lips moved lower on her neck, his stubble scratching her but also adding to the entire experience.

"I thought that's what we were doing right now..." He gently pulled the fabric away from her flesh, and the cool morning breeze immediately made her skin pebble as he moved lower to lave her now rigid peak with his tongue. "I mean, that's what this usually leads to, the making of a kid... What are the best positions to get a baby girl?" Nora couldn't help the small urgent movements she'd begun making beneath him. They were both wearing too many clothes still. Had he just asked her a question? She thought quickly about an answer that would hopefully get them naked faster, and smiled once she'd come up with an answer.

"All of them. So we'd best get started..." Phil chuckled into her neck and began pulling her pants down. Nora raised her hips to assist him, then stopped, pushing his hands away, as she heard the theme music for the news come back on loudly on the television. "Wait, Phil, stop, something's wrong..." He moved off of her immediately, reaching for her blouse and his shirts where they'd been thrown on the floor earlier. They righted their clothing and rushed into the hallway, almost running into Codsworth who seemed to be hurrying down there to find them.

"Sir! Ma'am! You need to see this!" Phil veered into Shaun's room, grabbing him up from the crib as they hurried into the living room, where Codsworth had turned the television's volume even louder. The newsreader was looking at the paper before him in shock, before reading out the words in a stilted voice. Nuclear attack? Bombs going off in every major city? Multiple deaths? Phil looked at her, shocked, then ran back to Shaun's room, grabbing his travel bag. They could hear what they could only assume was the Nuclear raid siren going off outside. Codsworth opened the door for her, then stepped back respectfully. "The Vault-Tec representative said no robots, Ma'am. I will be perfectly happy waiting here for you, until you return. Hopefully it won't be too long a wait, I do so enjoy chatting with you and your family. I'm very fortunate that you chose my model from the store..." Nora could feel her eyes tearing up, and she just couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around the robotic butler, placing a kiss on his titanium encased head. His arms flailed wildly for a moment, then the robot seemed to calm down. "I'm not programmed for human/robot relations, Ma'am. What would Master Phil think?!" Nora chuckled wiping her eyes, then gave Codsworth a friendly pat on the head.

"Oh Codsworth, I'm going to miss you. We'll see you once we get out. For all we know, this is just a drill." Codsworth crossed the fingers on his multi-digited hand, and backed away from her embrace.

"Finger's crossed, Ma'am. I'll prepare dinner, just in case." Nora might have imagined it, but it seemed the robo-butler's voice sounded a little teary. But that was meant to be impossible, right? Robots with human emotions? Phil reappeared cradling Shaun in the wearable baby carrier while carrying his travel bag full of nappies, baby wipes, food and formula. He grabbed her arm and almost ran out the door, calling out a swift goodbye to Codsworth as they hurried up the street towards Vault 111. Codsworth closed the door behind them, and began cleaning up the mess from breakfast. It just wouldn't do for his family to return to a dirty kitchen. He hummed one of the songs he'd heard on the radio that morning as he worked.

"So this day isn't turning out quite as we'd planned, huh?" Nora looked over to her right, at the man and child who were her entire world now, and couldn't help smiling. If this day had turned out the way they'd planned, they'd be making love in their comfortable bed right now, hopefully creating a baby sister for Shaun, then heading out for a leisurely stroll in the park, followed by a picnic, then Phil's speech at the Veteran's Hall. Now, it appeared they were running for their lives. They'd passed a few of their neighbours, also heading toward the Vault, dragging suitcases and heavy bags with them. Their family seemed to be only one travelling this lightly. The siren in the background was getting louder as they approached the mesa where Vault 111 was situated. There was a large group of people standing at the gates leading into the field, yelling at the group of soldiers that were only letting a chosen few people trickle through, it seemed. This was fine, both she and Phil knew how to deal with the military, both being ex-military themselves. Phil strode forward, heading toward the soldier holding the holo-clipboard. "Shepard, family of three. Or possibly Shepard, family of two and Garland." Phil threw her a wink and she looked away, sighing. The unsmiling soldier looked down at the board, and checked two boxes.

"Go ahead. And hurry, the Vault gets locked down in less than a minute." The soldier did a quick double take while looking at her, and Nora gave him a hard look. He glanced away nervously, then caught her her arm as she began to walk through the gate. "You're really her, aren't you. Nora Garland. It's an honor, Ma'am!" He snapped her a quick salute before releasing her. Nora looked down at her arm, bemused, before Phil grabbed her and made their way toward the large platform which would, they assumed, lower them down into the Vault. They could see Boston City off in the distance, the sun glinting off the high-rise glass buildings as it rose higher in the sky. Phil wrapped an arm around her as they looked off into the distance, then nuzzled the top of her head with his chin.

"You know I love you, right? You and Shaun, you're the most important people in my life. If you hadn't said yes when I'd asked you out all those years ago... I probably wouldn't be here today." Nora snuggled into his side, watching the city shine.

"Don't talk like that, My Love. This isn't a goodbye. We're all together, and we're all going to be fine..." As she uttered the words, the city seemed to explode in flames. They didn't even see the bombs drop, but they could see the familiar form of a mushroom cloud blooming from the now ruined golden city. "Oh god..." The trees and houses on the outskirts of the city started to bend, forced by the pressure of the nuclear wind. The trees around them were starting to whip around as well. Near the gates they could hear agitated shouts as the people not on the Vault 111 list started to grow desperate.

"I work for goddamn Vault-Tec, I should have free reign down there! This isn't right!" The Vault-Tec rep who'd been at their home less than an hour earlier tried to make a break for the group, but one of the unsmiling guards pulled out his sidearm and shot him, dropping him to the ground. Just as the group began to react, the ground beneath them started to drop, and they were soon beneath the ground, sealed in by metres of thick steel. Shaun had been surprisingly quiet during the entire drama, and now reached out to grab her hand, looking at her wide-eyed. He wasn't fond of the dark, and the Vault was quite dark. Nora hoped he wouldn't start screaming now. Before they could do anything though, more military types appeared as what appeared to be emergency lighting turned itself on.

"People, if you would please listen to me, file into the next room and outfit yourselves with your new Vault attire. The jumpsuits have medical capabilities and will keep away small amounts of radiation that may filter down into the Vault from the outside. Your names will be checked, and then you will head into the next room for decontamination. Have I made myself clear?" The small group nodded numbly, and began to move into the next room, where they were handed their new 'suits' of clothing, bright blue one piece bodysuits with a bright yellow '111' printed on the back. At least they had dividers set up so they had a little privacy to get changed. Nora and Phil shrugged and headed into the same cubicle, bringing Shaun with them. They stripped off their clothes (for the second time that day) and pulled on the bodysuits, zipping them up snugly to their necks. Both having been through decontamination procedures before, they knew that every little bit of body covering helped. They left Shaun in his onesie as there didn't seem to be any bodysuits fit for a one year old, and moved into the next room to have their identities checked, again. A bespectacled woman already wearing one of the gaudy bodysuits looked down at her holo-clipboard then up at them, expectantly. Phil shrugged and stepped forward.

"Shepard, family of three..." He left off there, to see if the changes to Nora's name had been made. The woman frowned a little and looked up again, squinting.

"I have a Shepard family of two..." Nora sighed, and stepped up.

"It's Shepard family of three, but technically Shepard family of two plus Garland. Because someone didn't update their database information regularly." She felt a little bad after adding that last jibe, as they had just seen the very man get shot as he was making a run for it, but the deed was done now. The woman looked down again, and her eyes widened as she saw whatever the pop-up was that everyone was receiving regarding 'Nora Garland'. Nora craned her head forward, but the woman hugged the board to her chest, almost shaking.

"Uh, alright, just head on through please. And thank you for your work, Ms Garland!" Nora grimaced, glancing at Phil, and he took her hand as they headed into the next room.

"Did they declassify my file? Can they do that without my permission?" Phil's brow furrowed in concern at this thought.

"I don't think they can do that for years, Hon, not until we've been out of the service for a lot longer. And yours would be an entirely different story, seeing as your 'friends' may have been mentioned in them. And I assume 'they' wouldn't want their names' bandied about all willy-nilly. Maybe it's just a system glitch?" Nora squeezed his hand back, and looked up as they walked into the decontamination room, then frowned a little. Something seemed... off about this room. Where were the showers, the 'clean' rooms? She could tell Phil was looking for the same features as he scanned the room beside her, still cradling their son in his arms. One of the technicians came towards them, dressed in a white lab coat over normal clothes. Ah, no bodysuits for the scientists then. Double standards. The man stopped directly in front of her, and motioned her forward.

"Ms Garland, if you'll follow me...?" Nora openly glared at the man, and refused to budge.

"It's Mrs Shepard, and no, I don't think so. This doesn't look like any decontamination chamber I've ever been in. Something is going... on here." Before she could raise her voice, the 'scientist' lifted his lab coat and flashed her a look at the Beretta in the holster at his hip, before smirking at her and once more gesturing further into the room. She glanced at Phil, who hadn't noticed the previous display and moved a few steps further into the room. "What are you playing at? What..." Then she got a closer look at the decontamination 'chamber' and froze.

"These are our new state of the art decon chambers, Mrs Shepard. You'll be our first participant, of course. Everyone will follow once they see a perfect example of a young wife and mother stepping forward to get ready for her new future. All you have to do is step inside, and take a seat." Nora licked her lips nervously as she eyed the one-person chamber before her. This wasn't a decon chamber at all. It was a cryogenic chamber.

"Oh god, you're going to freeze us all..." Nora was still whispering, well aware of the gun beneath the man's coat. She wasn't going to cause it scene if it meant her or her family's death. "The Vault-tec rep, everything he told us was lie. 'A home away from home', and all the comforts we're used to... You son's of bitches..." The scientist reached into his pocket and half pulled out a large syringe. She couldn't tell what it was filled with, but the threat was certainly there: Either get in, we'll make you get in. "Let me say goodbye to my son and husband first, please." The man in the lab coat nodded, stepping aside. She reached out, wrapping her arms around Phil and Shaun, praying that she wasn't going to leak out the angry tears she was trying desperately to keep at bay. "See you on the other side, my sweet boys. I love you both." Phil looked slightly confused, but was still happy to receive a passionate kiss before she stepped away to kiss Shaun on both of his cheeks.

"We're just going to be right across from you, Hon. We'll see you in a few minutes. They told me I'd be fine just holding Shaun, there's no need to worry. Love you too. Wave to mum, buddy!" Shaun raised his arm, and opened and closed his hand a couple of times, in his version of a wave. Nora backed away from them, and sat in the chamber, clinging with angry fists to the bars within. The man leaned in, doing up her belts to make sure she remained as comfortable as possible, and moved to close the door. She stopped him with a single look. He almost faltered with the door lock, then looked down at her, his gaze softening a little, finally.

"How long are we going under for?" The man looked away, then licked his lips nervously before looking back at her.

"It will only feel like a few minutes, Ms Garland. Do you really need to know?" She looked away, the tears finally escaping her eyes as she looked at Phil and Shaun entering the chamber across from hers, also getting strapped in. She saw her friends and neighbours following suit, all the way down the aisle. Oh lord, this was all on her now. They were only getting in because she had. And now there was no time to get back out. The lab technician closed the door, turning the round wheel to lock it, and looked through the small viewing window at her. He hesitated, then flashed ten fingers at her, twice, through the glass, before moving along to lock the next door. Two lots of ten... Twenty. Twenty years? They were going under for twenty years! The photographs of prototypes and information she'd retrieved on her missions had shown the basic models of these cryo chambers, but none of them had been created to hold someone in suspended animation for twenty years! She could already start to feel the cold seeping into her skin through the bodysuit, and knew that it wouldn't be going away any time soon. Hopefully she'd be asleep soon anyway. Then they'd all be woken up, and be able to continue their lives from where they'd left off. Only twenty years later, after all the fallout had dispersed. She felt her eyelids growing heavy, and gave one last glance through the now heavily iced over window towards Phil's chamber. His eyes were already closed. Then the window froze over completely. Her eyes fell closed, and her last clear thought was a faint questioning of if she would dream over the next twenty years. She'd soon find out...

END OF PART 01

Yep, so I've been playing a lot of Fallout 4, but I haven't really come across any stories following the game story line, so here ya go! Of course, I went the sassy route for Nora, and I've given her a kick-ass back story where she's a secret agent. I mean, a graduate from law school is all well and good, but that doesn't really explain all the weapons training and fighting techniques, so secret agent it is! Hope you guys enjoy this! As always read, review and enjoy!

Foxfire out!


	2. Every Day is Friday Part 02

Vaulted - A Fallout 4 Fan Fiction by Foxfire79 (Nora/Eventually Paladin Danse)

Disclaimer: Well obviously, if I don't work for Bioware, do you honestly think I'm going to work for Bethesda? Nobody wants to hire a hack writer like me. Any-who, all bitterness aside, I don't own anything related to the Fallout franchise except for the one or possibly two Sole Survivors I've created so far. Most of this chapter is set in a dream sequence because Nora is frozen, and I wanted to expand on her back story, so here it is! So, this is a flashback episode to how Nora and Phil got together, and the last big job they did. Enjoy!

Get started!

 **Every Day Is Friday - Part 02**

 **Prague, New Year's Eve, 2072**

They were about ten minutes away from the big countdown, and Nora was beginning to feel a little antsy for lack of a better word. She wasn't sure why, exactly. The entire evening had gone off without a hitch; she'd managed to get copies of the last of the files she'd needed from the lab, had made it back to her lodgings for a shower and a change before meeting the Science Faculty for pre-dinner drinks before they'd all headed to the National Museum for the biggest New Year's party in the city. Everyone was going to be there, not just the University faculty, but all of the important government officials, military advisors, possibly even the newly appointed Czech President. That meant there would be even more security than she and her own security team had planned for. This was the night they'd planned for her extraction. She was supposed to have just slipped out during the party and never returned, bringing the precious files she'd managed to acquire back to the United States. She didn't even have any weapons on her, she'd packed them all up for her team to retrieve and shadow away to their waiting aircraft. Things, however, never really run to plan. She took another sip of champagne and sighed, looking up at the huge clock that had been set up in the hall. Eight minutes now.

"My dear Nina, you don't seem to be in good spirits. Is this party not to your liking?" It was Nikolai Tomov, Dean of the University, who had interrupted her thoughts. He was dressed in his dapper best, including a top hat perched upon his unruly grey locks. Apparently they went all out for their special parties over here. Nora was glad she'd brought the sequin-encrusted little black dress she was currently wearing with her. She smiled at him, and waved away his concern with her non-glass holding hand.

"Just a little homesick, I think. I'm usually with my family at this time of year." Nikolai nodded, taking her arm to talk to her more closely. Nora didn't mind, she'd grown quite fond of the elderly gentleman. He was always more than happy to answer her questions, no matter how non-sequitur they became. He just seemed to be glad to have someone to listen to him. She placed her empty glass on a nearby table, and covered his hand with her own as he directed her out onto the dance floor, already filled with waltzing couples. He let go of her arm and turned to face her, bending forward in an elegant bow.

"My dear girl, would you do me the honor of joining me for a dance? It would do my poor old spirit a world of good..." Nora laughed, taking his arm, while sneaking another look at the clock. Five minutes to go. Damn.

"Professor Tomov, there's no way I'd rather ring in the new year." She dropped a curtsy, then took his hand, moving into the correct position to begin the dance with him. The dance lessons she'd been forced to take before heading over here were finally paying off. Soon they were in sync with everyone else on the floor, and the old man began speaking once more.

"You mentioned your family, saying you spend this time of year with them usually. Would this be in the UK, or America?" Nora startled slightly, looking into the older man's face. Her cover for this particular operation had her posing as a British citizen, and as far as she knew, her accent hadn't dropped. Nikolai smiled sadly, and continued twirling them about the dance floor. "I overheard you one evening, on the telephone. I think you assumed everyone had left, but I'd had one of my bursts of inspiration and had come over to the lab late at night. You were there, copying files I can only assume, and speaking to someone with a very natural North-Western accent." Nora looked away, towards the clock again, then back at him. Three minutes.

"I can explain, Nikolai..." The older man sighed, spun her out to an arms length, then brought her back into waltz position again. He looked resigned, and a little sad, but not like somebody who was about to call the guards on her. "I was sent here for information, but you've already figured that out. Your scientists are ahead of ours in their cryogenic research, and weapon tech. Our government's needed it, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time..." It looked like the President had arrived after all, with only two minutes to spare. The security in the room had almost doubled, and Nora could not see a viable exit anywhere. She swore under her breath.

"Thank you. For telling me the truth. Everyone else here treats me like a doddering old fool, but over this past year I have enjoyed our chats. Even though you were probably just using me for information. I have something to tell you, too. It wasn't just me having doubts about you. Some of the other lab technicians may have become a little jealous of the special treatment you were receiving. They also may have brought those petty jealousies to the attention of our local constabulary, who may in turn have informed our own government of a possible leak in the department. The President being here isn't the only reason security is so tight here tonight. I'm going to walk you out onto the balcony but from there you're going to have to make haste on your own, my dear. I assume you have a security team waiting out there for you?" Nora nodded, numbly, as he led her from the dance floor, past the two large, armed guards at the open doors, and out to the grand balcony overlooking the fountain in the garden below. The twenty second countdown had begun. "Just one thing, before you go... What is your name?" Nora blinked back a tear, knowing the danger the old man was now in having aided her in her escape.

"It's Nora. And I truly did enjoy all of your stories. Thank you, Nikolai." She slipped her earbud in and turned it on, immediately getting an earful of panicked chatter from her security team below. "Shep, can you hear me? I'm on the grand balcony, will be approaching from above, do you copy?" There was silence, then the pleasant baritone of her head of security replying with a string of curse words loud enough that even Nikolai could hear them. He chuckled while helping her straddle the large marble banister, then stepped back into the center of the small courtyard.

"Good luck, Nora. And God save the King." Nora startled once again. Why on earth would a citizen of the Czech Republic say that unless... The old man nodded, throwing her a jaunty salute and a grin before heading back towards the room now full of cheering people ringing in 2073. That old devil... He'd probably been an agent himself, back in the day. No wonder he'd sniffed her out. She swung her other leg over the cold marble and made ready to jump, when she heard a loud exclamation behind her.

"Where is she, old man?!" Nora dropped behind the banister, now balancing on the thin marble strip on the outside of the raised courtyard, thankful that her dress was black and not something that could be spotted more easily. One of the security guards had grabbed Nikolai by the sleeve and was trying to stare him down, to no avail.

"I don't know who you're talking about. I was out on the balcony, smoking by myself." The guard shoved him, and he fell to the ground, his hat rolling to the pillar that Nora was clinging to from the other side. "That was rather unnecessary, don't you think? I answered your question..." It was then that someone else joined them on the balcony, in plain clothes, with a small pistol drawn and aimed at him.

"He's a friend of hers, probably helped her escape. There's a certain protocol for these situations. Do you have anything to say for yourself, Dean Tomov." Nikolai straightened his tie and looked up at both men defiantly, seemingly unfazed by the gun pointed at him.

"I stand by my actions. Do as you must." The man with gun pulled the trigger, and Nikolai fell to the cold marble floor, his blood running through the pillars to drip onto the courtyard below. Nora held her breath, hoping they wouldn't notice her clinging there as the two men moved forward to look down over the banister to the ground below. The man with the gun looked up first, then headed back towards the crowded room.

"She couldn't have gone far. Get everyone to spread out, we'll cover the grounds fairly quickly. And get them to check any suspicious vehicles in the area as well. Maybe set out some roadblocks. That information cannot leave the country." The security guard saluted, then headed back inside as well, leaving Nora alone with the old man's body.

"Shit!" Nora squeezed her eyes closed, willing the tears that sprang into them away. There would be time to mourn the sweet old man later. Right now she was in a world of trouble. The gun had been silenced and nobody had heard the shot over their celebrating. It could be hours before anyone found him. There was another sudden burst of static over her earbud, then Shep's voice made it through.

"Princess? Y'there?" She couldn't look away from Nikolai's body, the blood streaming from his ruined head.

"They bloody shot him, right in front of me. They shot Nikolai for helping me." Another burst of static.

"They didn't see you though, right? Ah, there you are..." She felt a hand grasp her ankle and almost screamed and kicked out before recognizing the familiar silhouette of her head of security. She only knew his shape because she'd never really seen his face without goggles or camouflage on it. She slipped down from the balcony and into his waiting arms, then pulled her skirt back down to a respectable length. "I've got her boys, get the cars ready." She looked up at him sharply as she checked in her bag to make sure the memory sticks were still encased inside. They were, and she closed the bag with relief.

"Cars? More than one?" Shep looked toward the gate, a mere few metres away, and grimaced.

"It's protocol, for a situation like this. One actual transport, and one to confuse the many, many people who will be chasing us. Have you got everything?" Nora nodded. She'd already boxed up and sent home any personal belongings she'd acquired over the year she'd been living here, and anything left in her room was junk, and wouldn't provide any clues as to her whereabouts or her actual identity. She was good to go. "Alright then. You might want to ditch the heels, we're going to be running." Nora had already stowed the shoes in her handbag and was ready to go. Now that Nikolai, her only friend here, was dead, there was nothing keeping her here. "The cars should be just outside the gate and to the left. We'll both get in the second car, with Jones and Stanley. Marcus and Edgely will take the first car and try and lead them off. Let's go!"

They moved out of cover, sneaking to the edge of the shadowed area before making their way across the cool stone towards the gates. Nora heard a faint popping sound, then her ankle exploded in pain. She looked down and all she could see was blood and splintered pieces of bone where her ankle used to be. She didn't even have time to cry out before her shoulder exploded with the same pain, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping.

"Shep..." He'd stopped in his tracks when she'd fallen behind and dropped to his knees, picking her up and running through the gates, followed by the small pop's of a silenced firearm. He threw open the door of a black SUV parked down the street almost throwing her into the back before climbing in himself. She'd started seeing stars, and felt as if she'd throw up any minute, but they were safe, for the moment at least. She felt the engine turn over and heard the wheels spin as the car sped off down the road. She also felt a pair of warm hands prodding at her injuries, but she didn't feel much pain at all, because she was drifting off into oblivion...

And was jolted awake when the brakes slammed on and she almost rolled off the back seat onto the floor. Almost because she realised she was being held tightly but carefully in the arms of Shep, who was currently lying across the backseat of the SUV cradling her to his chest. At any other time she would have been mortified to be in this position, but at the moment... Then a wave of pain took her, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Shep didn't stir, but he did speak.

"Are we at the airfield already?" His deep voice rumbled in his chest, and Nora closed her eyes, trying not to jolt her shoulder again. She could feel his hand rubbing her back, trying to soothe her, and she couldn't help a small, pained smile from crossing her lips.

"Yeah boss, just waiting on the other guys then we'll jet out of here. We can get on the plane and wait, if you think that's a better option?" Shep cleared his throat, and Nora felt his adam's apple bob against the top of her head as he swallowed.

"That might be for the best. We'll need help getting out though, remember she's injured. If you guys make her worse you'll have to deal with me, understood?" The two masked men in the front seats exited the vehicle, moving around to open the back doors, giving them a second to themselves. Shep's hand rose to push her hair back behind her ear, and wipe some of the sweat from her brow. "How you holding up, Princess? Gonna survive this mess and save the world?" Nora took a deep breath as the doors opened and braced herself as Stanley coaxed her into a sitting position so he could lift her out of the car. Her brow furrowed and she almost passed out, but she managed to formulate an answer in her mind, just as the second SUV screeched onto the airfield tarmac.

"I always survive." Shep chuckled, still lying across the backseat, as Jones looked over his own injuries. "And stop calling me 'Princess', I never agreed to that code name..." Her answer dwindled away as Jones swore, looking down at Shep on the car seat before him.

"Jesus Shep, how many times were you shot? Do you have any blood left?" Shep waved him away as he tried and failed to sit up under his own volition, then groaned in agony as Jones hefted him into a more upright position. "Marcus, help me move him, he's bleeding out. Edgely, make sure the pilot is good to go, I'm going to have to try and remove these bullets and stabilize him while we're in the air. And I'll have to check over our girl again, too. There's no point to any of this if we lose her..." Nora's eyes widened as Shep was carried past her and onto the plane. Stanley must have felt her grow tense in his arms.

"Don't worry about him, he's been through worse. Compared to some of our other assignments, working with you has been a cake walk. Shep'll be fine, he always is. Now let's go home." He almost ran up the stairs and the door was pulled closed behind him, the engines of the plane already warming up for take off. They strapped her into an almost horizontal seat, right beside Shep, who was similarly strapped down. Now that they were in a more brightly lit area she could see the sorry states that they were both in, her left ankle and right shoulder both a bloody mess, and his body armour was shot to hell, blood dripping into the carpet under the seat beneath him. They must have been using armour piercing rounds to have left him in such a mess. She reached out to touch his arm, just to make sure he was still alive, and when he turned his head to look at her she was struck by just how lovely his eyes were. Then she realised it was the first time she'd ever seen him without a mask or goggles over his face, the first time in two years of working with the man and she'd never seen his eyes. She felt her own fill with tears, and he smiled, reaching his own hand over to hold hers.

"Hey now, none of that. We made it, we're going home. And Princess...?" He waited for her to gather her wits before continuing.

"What?" Shep grinned at her and winked.

"Happy New Year." Nora closed her eyes, the tears running down the sides of her face as she managed an exhausted chuckle, giving Shep's hand a squeeze before letting it drop and giving in to the painkiller that Jones had injected her with.

"Happy New Year..."

She slept through most of the flight back to London, occasionally jolted into wakefulness when Jones gave her shoulder or ankle a prod. He'd found and removed both bullets and the shrapnel from her wounds and set her broken bones as best he could but he was only a field medic and had very few tools at his disposal. She would need reconstructive surgery for both injuries. Shep on the other hand, well... He'd managed to dig five bullets out of him, two from his chest, two from his abdomen and one from his right arm. Luckily none of the had hit anything vital, and the body armour had helped but still, he had lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, the squads were set up so that all members had the same blood type, so they managed with a few transfusions during the flight and kept him going long enough to get to the government medical facility on the ground.

 **London, 2073**

The entire team remained grounded while Nora and Shep recovered enough to travel back to Washington to bring the information Nora had garnered to the military. In the state of upheaval the world was currently in, with the lack of resources starting to take it's toll everywhere, she hoped that what little information she could provide to give them an advantage would help.

As soon as Nora could walk comfortably, albeit with a cane for assistance, she'd visit Shep in his recovery room. He'd been hooked up to machines for weeks, to assist his organs with regrowth, and still couldn't really walk without major assistance, but he didn't seem to mind. He'd just look at her, and smile, throwing her the occasional thumbs up. Today was no different. Except it was, for her. As always she was slightly taken aback by his shirtless form in the hospital bed. He was just so damn handsome!

"Well, Princess, looks like you'll be heading back soon. I'm just sorry I won't be able to see you get your Medal of Honor from the President. Damn my useless human body!" Nora laughed, placing a hand over his without even realizing what she was doing. He looked down at their fingers, bemused, then looked back up at her. "Listen, Princess..." She threw him a stern look.

"Stop calling me that, it's a stupid code name." He threw an exasperated look back at her.

"Then stop calling me Shep, damnit! I have a first name!" Nora felt her cheeks starting to turn pink, and he took the opportunity to grab hold of her hand more tightly. "Nora, look... I know we haven't really had a chance to get to know each other, you know, like normal civilians would, but when I get out of here... I don't know, do you maybe wanna..." His proposal was interrupted by Stanley wandering into the room, looking for Nora. He was closely followed by Jones, coming to check on Shep. Nora sprung away from him, not noticing just how closely she'd been sitting to him, practically leaning over him on his bed. She hoped the others hadn't noticed. Jones cleared his throat, then moved her hand aside so he could check Shep's pulse.

"Hmmm, a little fast, can't imagine why..." Shep threw a murderous look at his so-called friend, then looked back towards Nora.

"Nora..." Her cheeks still felt warm as she realised that speaking to her must have been what made his pulse race, then Stanley cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Miss, your transport is ready to head out. Non-stop to Washington, gotta love those express flights. We'll see you there in a few months when the boss is flight ready." Nora looked at Shep apologetically as his face fell.

"That's why I came by today, to say goodbye. They moved my flight up because my recovery is going so well. I guess I'll be seeing you in a few months..." She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "'Bye Phillip. I'll see you soon." He absently raised his hand to the spot where she'd kissed him, and grinned.

"It's just Phil. Only my dad calls me Phillip! And that's only when he's mad! See you! We'll finish this conversation later!" He was still calling out to her as she walked down the corridor with Stanley towards the hangars.

"I think he likes you, Miss." Stanley shouldered her heavy bag and threw her a sideways glance. She chuckled and punched the huge man beside her in the arm. He pretended to be hurt, all the while grinning back.

"You know what? I think I like him, too." Stanley threw her bag into the cargo hold, then saluted her as she made to climb into the plane. She pulled him into a hug instead, and she felt him laughing as he patted her on the back. "I'm going to miss you boys. What am I going to do with myself until you guys get back?" Stanley scratched his head, puffing out a breath.

"Don't know, Miss. Maybe relax for a while, and try not to get shot again?" Nora smiled, straightening his baseball cap, then headed up the stairs into the aircraft.

"I never want to get shot again! Now relaxing... That sounds like a plan. Bye Stanley!" The large man waved as the door closed behind her. And so Nora returned to the United States. She had her debriefing with the military and made sure all of the files she'd transmitted matched up with the hard copies she'd handed over. She'd respectfully delayed her meeting with the Lady President until the rest of her team arrived, and the Oval Office had no issue with the few months of delay. Now her days were filled with therapy sessions for her shoulder and her ankle, and waiting for the rest of her boys to come home. Almost a year had gone by and they still hadn't returned. Or maybe they had and just hadn't told her. She pushed that thought away, knowing it couldn't possibly be true. She hadn't read Shep's, sorry, Phil's signal's incorrectly, had she? He'd been interested in her. She sighed and set out for her morning walk, cane in hand, hoping one day she wouldn't need the additional support of the walking device.

 **Washington D.C., New Year's Eve, 2073**

She'd finally received a message from Stanley a week before, saying they'd be back just in time for the big night. They were all to meet at The White House for their presentation, then go out to celebrate afterwards. It had been almost an entire year since she'd seen her old security team, but she'd remained in contact with video calls and messages sent via their devices. There had been complications with Phil's surgeries, mostly him trying to do too much before he'd recovered and undoing all the doctor's work. He'd finally given in and followed doctor's orders, and had been fine to fly just in time. Now Nora was pacing in the waiting area, wondering where they could all be. I mean, it's not like five men of that size could really sneak anywhere... She heard a small exclamation from down the hall, and her head spun automatically in that direction.

"There she is. Hi Miss!" She hobbled/ran to Stanley, throwing herself at him in a huge bear hug, both of them laughing. "It's been too long, Miss. You look better." She peered over his should at the rest of the group, and frowned.

"Where's Shep?" She heard his throat clearing from further down the hallway, and she scrambled out of Stanley's embrace.

"Right here, Princess." The first thing she noticed was that he was thinner than she remembered, and a little paler than usual. Other than that... She walked slowly towards him, and offered him a hand to shake in greeting. He scoffed at the gesture and pulled her in close to him, wrapping his arms around her. "We have a conversation to finish, M'lady. Hopefully a conversation that ends in something better than a handshake." She closed her eyes, savouring the warm feeling of his arms around her, then stepped back, looking him over again.

"Are you sure you're alright? You're talking about conversations, and that's not the man of action I know." He winced slightly as she pulled away, stretching his sides a little, and she guessed that maybe he wasn't quite as well as he could be. "You're still hurt, aren't you? Should you be here...?" He stopped her words with a finger placed upon her lips and shook his head.

"Nothing was going to keep me away from seeing you a minute longer. Also, I wanted my award for all the dangerous shit you put me and my men through. We are totally owed it." Nora laughed, seeing his sense of humour was still intact. The other three men stood off to the side, trying not to watch their reunion, while Stanley stood there beside them trying to stop himself from tearing up. He reached toward her, pulling her closer to him again so he could whisper. "And I believe I may owe you a kiss, seeing as you sneakily gave me one just before you left me to my convalescence. That was truly unfair." Nora could feel herself starting to blush again, and silently berated herself. She'd never been one of the girls that fell to swooning whenever a handsome face looked at her. Then again, she knew Phil wasn't just a handsome face. It had been his job for the past two years to keep her alive and safe, and he's managed to do so while remaining completely anonymous. Then she's seen his lovely brown eyes for the first time, and... Well... She'd fallen for him. Hard. Before she could say anything in response, one of the Aides motioned for them to come forward, and they all shuffled toward the door. The Aide stopped her before they entered the room, motioning towards her cane.

"Sorry, Ma'am, we can't let you take the walking stick inside." She handed the stick to the Aide, then almost toppled as she leaned on her ankle to hard to turn around. Phil, of course, was right there to steady her. He glared at the Aide, who suddenly didn't know where to look, then assisted her to walk/hobble into the Oval Office. President Dwyer stood in the centre of the room, with a table lined with medals, ready to be handed out. She smiled at each of them in turn, shaking their hands, and pinning their awards on their dress jackets. Then it was Nora's turn. She kept her limp to a minimum as she stepped forward, shaking the diminutive Official's hand while accepting her award, then stepped back, leaning heavily against Phil again, though he didn't seem to mind. One of his hands moved to her waist, steadying her, and she raised an eyebrow. The hand was closer to her rear end than it should have been, and he knew it. He tossed her a cheeky wink, just before the President addressed them as a group.

"The service you've provided our country, and our brother's across the ocean, will hopefully lend us the advantage we need to combat any needs which may arise in these tumultuous times. I personally thank you, and I have a live video feed from His Majesty to lend his congratulations to you also. It's a personal message, so I'll step out and leave you to it, for a moment. This is, after all, MY office." Dwyer smirked as she walked out one of the slightly hidden doors, leaving them to the office and the large screen against the wall. The men made to move out as well, but Nora stopped them.

"No, he can thank all of us, it wasn't just me. Stay." The screen burst into life, showing the handsome young King of the British Isles and Provinces in his full regalia, seated on his Throne.

"Nora Garland. We thank you for your service to the Crown, and to all of our outlying nations whom we can now accommodate better, having been provided these blueprints to create better kinds of weaponry and more protective measures. You may have saved many lives while putting yours, and your team's, at risk." Nora dropped a well practiced curtsy, even with Phil's steadying hands helping her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I was just fulfilling my duty." The King nodded sagely, then motioned to whoever was in the room with him to leave, before leaning forward, his crown tilting dangerously on his head.

"Bloody hell, Nora, what were you thinking?! You could have been killed! You got shot! Twice!" Nora puffed out a breath, crossing her arms.

"They weren't supposed to tell you the details, Rob..." The King had removed his crown at this point and had placed it on the now empty throne as he paced before the camera. "You knew when I started this job I'd be getting into rather dicey situations..." He moved in more closely to the camera, his face filling the entire screen.

"I'm not supposed to send my best friend into certain danger on a daily basis! If you'd only said 'yes' when I'd asked you to marry me all those years ago, we wouldn't be in this predicament!" Nora sighed, rubbing her forehead, before moving closer to the camera herself.

"If I'd married you all those years ago, we'd both be bored as all get out and resentful of each other. I'd rather have you as my friend." Rob's eyes widened, and he blinked a few times, running this truth through his head.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Also, I would never have met Angela and married her, and she's brilliant." Nora barked out a laugh, nodding. "So, don't get mad, but I spoke to MI 6 about releasing you from that contract, seeing as you, oh, I don't know, ALMOST DIED. And it's hard for a man in my position to hold onto the friends he made before he came into wearing the 'big hat', as it were... So they said they'd let you go. Full benefits and all. As a personal favour to me, seeing as I'm, well, the King. I can have a word with the colonists as well, if you'd like me to?" Nora's first reaction was anger, then she realised... Maybe it was time for her to stop playing 'Secret Agent' after all. These injuries weren't a laughing matter, she was still in pain after a year of therapy. Perhaps she'd just been lucky up to this point. She sighed, and looked through the lens.

"Thanks Rob. I think I'll take the retirement package. I have some stuff I need to do. I might even finally finish that law degree I was studying when I met you." Rob grinned through the camera back at her.

"So you'll come back to England and finish studying here, right?" Nora shook her head, and felt Phil suddenly relax next to her. Rob's face fell a little, then he composed himself and smiled. He was the King, after all. "Ah, I understand. Things to do, people to see, and all that. Where will you be living?" Nora hadn't even thought about that yet, but remembered Phil mentioning something about wanting to visit Massachusetts, and she was originally from the area.

"Boston, I think. Boston would be nice." The idea of getting back to studying seemed to be growing on her now. And spending some more time working on her physiotherapy would definitely be advisable. Possibly spending some more time with Phil would be nice too. Rob moved back towards the throne, picking up his crown which he replaced on his head, at a slightly jaunty angle.

"Very well, then. You are hereby released from your contract of work with any and all Governments under my power or otherwise, after I have a word with her Ladyship at your end. Enjoy your retirement, and have a good life. And keep in touch for heaven's sake, it gets so boring over here! 'Bye mate!" He blew her a kiss, making her chuckle.

"'Bye Rob, say hi to Angie and the boys for me." The men all waved goodbye as well, then they all headed back out into the waiting vestibule. Edgely nudged her in the side, getting her attention.

"And that is why we call you 'Princess'. Because you almost were one." Nora rolled her eyes, and puffed out an annoyed breath.

"Yeah, he wishes." Phil retrieved her walking stick from the President's Aide, before telling President Dwyer they'd vacated her office, and that the King wished to have a quick word, before they all began heading outside. Nora sighed, finding herself leaning more heavily on her cane than usual. Apparently, speaking to two heads of state in one afternoon was incredibly draining. Another Aide stepped in front of them just before they walked out of the main entrance, holding a holo-clipboard. He cleared his throat quietly to gain her attention, then held the board out towards her.

"Ms Garland, your discharge papers, if you could just sign here... and here... and once more over here. Thank you for work. The President sends her thanks as well, and wishes you the best of luck with your future endeavours." Nora handed the stylus back to the Aide, who nodded a farewell and dashed away.

"Wow, when Rob says he's going to set the wheels in motion, he's not kidding. I guess I'm officially unemployed now." Edgely nodded, stepping up on her other side.

"You're probably also rich. Might want to check your bank balance sometime soon. All that danger money will you make you one eligible bachelorette... Ow!" Phil had elbowed his chatty offsider in the arm rather sharply, followed by a glower. "My mistake. That large amount of money will be a fine asset for you as you travel this world completely alone, with no-one at all worshipping at your feet... Ow! Fine, I'll stop, jeez..." Nora chuckled, wondering exactly how much cash she'd been paid out. She hoped there would be anough for her tuition fees, then some left over to buy a house. The rest she might invest somehow... She could feel Phil's eyes burning into her back as she'd walked a few steps ahead of them, but when she turned he looked swiftly at Jonesy, pretending to be in deep conversation. Jonesy rolled his eyes, smothering a grin, as he pretended to listen. She turned to Marcus, who was his usual stoic self.

"Marcus, what are the plans for tonight? We're all going out for New Year's drinks, right?" The large man nodded, retrieving his device from his pocket. He scrolled through the daily reminders until he found the evening's plans.

"Twenty-two thirty hours, at our hotel's bar. We're not really dressing up, but I don't know, if you want to wear a dress or whatever, well... I'm fairly certain the Boss wouldn't mind." Nora looked up at him, bemused.

"Did you just crack a joke, Marcus?" He shrugged, putting his device away.

"It happens occasionally, Ma'am. Let's just say the Boss is a very singular man. He's only thought about you for the past three years, and now that you're not working together, and you're an honest to god civilian, he's most likely going to pursue you with every fibre of his being. Be prepared for some excessive wooing. He doesn't do anything by halves." Nora could feel her cheeks reddening, and for some reason she didn't know what to do with her hands. She decided shoving them deep into her pockets was the only solution as they once again headed towards the large, heavy oak doors leading to the White House lawns.

"Excessive wooing, huh? Sounds like a challenge..." Marcus reached out, ruffling her hair with one hand as he moved ahead of her to ask the guards to open the doors. The icy wind from outside hit them with a blast, making Nora shiver and run her hands over her arms. But that was odd, because the day they'd gone to the White House, while it had been winter, had not been particularly cold. In fact, it had been quite sunny, and while it had been chilly enough to wear coats that afternoon, they weren't particularly heavy coats. That's why the flurries of snow now swirling in through the doors, and curling around her toes, were a complete surprise.

"Are you guys seeing this...?" Her words died away as she realised she was now alone in the foyer, with no-one in sight, not even outside the doors. She could see her breath steaming in front of her, and could feel her skin growing increasingly numb. She tried to blink her eyes and found she couldn't, then tried to move her arms, and also found them unresponsive. She tried to take a step forward, but found her feet rooted to the ground. She finally managed to close her eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to release a scream to draw attention from anyone in the vicinity, but the cold air filling her throat choked her, making her voice disappear...

 **...Now...**

Nora opened her eyes again, just as the hatch closed back over the cryo pod. She could hear voices, as if from a distance, speaking outside in the vestibule.

"I told you it wasn't with her, on the manifest it said the husband was holding it." A man, but she didn't recognise the voice.

"The manifest this, the manifest that, sheesh! This is why I don't like working with you, you always rub it in when somebody goofs up!" And a woman. A rather sarcastic woman at that.

"'Goofs up'? What if we sealed her back in wrong, we could have messed up the entire plan?" The man again. A complete worrywart, apparently.

"Look at the panel, alright! Green lights all the way, she's back in popsicle city. Just a slight thaw when we opened the lid, but everything's cool now! Ha ha, cool..." The woman was the joker of the two, apparently.

"Fine. Let's do this properly then. Open him up..." The man was all business.

"You're not fun..." Nora agreed with the woman. He was no fun. But what exactly were they up to? Obviously opening up another pod, but who... She breathed in sharply, the frigid air burning in her throat, as she realised who's pod they were about to open. They pressed a few buttons on the panel beside his pod, and the door sprung open, with a release of steam. The door remained open, and a warming glow filled his pod as the internal heater switched on, thawing his and Shaun's sleeping forms. He stumbled slightly as he moved to step out of the pod, and the woman immediately went to take Shaun from his arms.

"What's happening? Is it time to move into the living quarters now? I can carry him, I'm fine." The woman stepped aside, he face obscured by a medical mask.

"I can see you're fine sir, and if you'll come along quietly with your son, we'll explain everything in the recovery room." Phil looked at the two of them, incredulously, clutching Shaun more tightly, while leaning against the pod. From his stance, Nora could tell that he clearly wasn't alright. Being frozen for... however long they'd been frozen, his body wouldn't be at one hundred percent for a few hours at least.

"I don't think so. Why don't you release my wife as well, and we'll all go in there as a family?" Nora would have smiled at that, had her face not been completely immobile.

"This is not how this was supposed to go. Hand the baby over, we'll put you back in your pod. and everybody lives." Nora was truly starting to hate the masked man. Phil set his jaw, clutching Shaun even more tightly.

"You'll have to kill me first." Nora sucked in another breath, trying to call out to him to stop, but she could feel the cold seeping into her bones again.

"Fine with me..." The action seemed to be playing out in slow motion before Nora's frozen stare. The man pulled out a pistol, aimed it at Phil's chest, and fired twice, knocking him sideways and backwards, back into the cryo pod. The woman reached forward, grabbing Shaun, who was now starting to fuss, from Phil's arms. They re-closed the pod and hurried from the room, out of Nora's field of vision. Their conversation continued but she only managed to process a few of the words.

"...at least we still have the spare..."

Nora tried to close her eyes again, but couldn't. She couldn't even cry in this state. Before she fell unconscious once more she tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Two unnamed individuals had just killed her husband and kidnapped her son. Hopefully somebody would legitimately thaw her out soon so she could track down those two murderers and get her son back. Until then, though... She clenched her jaw, and watched as the window before her iced over once more, and her mind returned to her dreaming state, now filled with thoughts of Phil and Shaun, and revenge.

END OF PART 02

Alrighty, very slowly catching up to the storyline, I've neglected all my other games in favour of Fallout 4 so I can progress this storyline, hence the very long flashback sequence to fill in time. Hopefully you guys find it acceptable, and I will continue on over the next few weeks actually playing the game and getting my characters sorted! Sorry this took so long, but I am back at work, and have been super busy, all I can hope is that you can forgive me and that enjoy the read! As always read, review and enjoy!

Foxfire out!


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